Editor's note: The ideas expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of the Othering & Belonging Institute or UC Berkeley, but belong to the author. All photos by Samir Gambhir.
During my recent visit to Germany, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or the Holocaust memorial and museum in Berlin, stood out as a profound highlight. Even though I had read about the Holocaust extensively, seen several documentaries and watched many movies made on this sobering event, it was deeply moving to bear witness to the real-life stories of individuals, families and entire communities portrayed in this museum. It serves as a solemn reminder of a time when humanity descended to its lowest point, when we discriminated against and dehumanized fellow human beings, and the hatred was so deep that even the most innocent and the vulnerable ones were not spared.
The museum captures the family networks, the prosperity before the Holocaust and the fundamental human needs for safety, kinship and a sense of belonging. It displays news coverage from the horrific time, journal entries and verbal exchanges highlighting the fear, terror and intimidation that pervaded society. Those acts of torture, destruction and mass murder marked one of the most shameful chapters in our shared history. Every image, statement, and family lineage displayed at the museum told a story told in its rawest form – making it poignant, captivating and chilling. The story retold through these exhibits has the power to move anyone.
Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World, an OBI publication co-authored by john powell and Stephen Menendian, has a mention of the museum and talks about denialism in the context of the Holocaust and related reparations on page 314 of the book.
Image of the outdoor sculpture at the Holocaust Museum
After the Holocaust, several countries and international bodies pledged "Never Again" to genocide and mass atrocities. On Dec. 9, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. And the following day, the global body also adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
While widely documented with well-preserved evidence, the Holocaust wasn’t the only event in our history that saw mass othering and killing. The historical events of the Rwanda genocide, ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian war, the Indian famine during British rule or the Indian Holocaust – By Arise Arjuna Foundation, the partition of India and numerous others were equally disturbing events that led to a staggering number of fatalities.
Even in recent years, the world has witnessed several contemporary horrific events, such as the genocide in Gaza, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sudan strife, atrocities on Rohingya Muslims, and the ongoing religious discrimination in India, to list a few. I would like to reflect on two of these in particular.
The systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza under the garb of fighting terrorism is incredibly ironic.
One can feel the horrors of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israeli concertgoers. The fear among residents and concertgoers at a music festival which was attacked as they ran for their lives must have been unimaginable. They must have tried escaping in any direction they could. The fear of being captured, the exhaustion of running, and the possibility of death might have led to an eerie realization that every single person is vulnerable, and the worst could happen to your own family.
However, innocent men, women and children of Gaza have been targeted, killed and their human rights violated in their own land for decades. Food and essential medicines have been blocked from reaching the affected areas, hospitals have been bombed and doctors kidnapped, tortured and killed. The Mediterranean Sea routes are being monitored for any incoming or outgoing ferries, misinformation and disinformation continues to be spread, and on the ground, information is being suppressed. Imagine the plight of Palestinian families terrorized to the core, trying to keep themselves safe, being forced to leave their houses, pushed to run from one place to another under strict directive from the occupying forces, dealing with instability and lack of services, being bombed indiscriminately, and not knowing what the future holds. I can’t even imagine the impact this military offensive is having on people's mental health, children’s education and nutrition, hunger and livelihood, women’s services, and more. A recent talk by Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, co-hosted by OBI, puts history and current conditions in perspective. Dr. Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon from California, twice went to Gaza to volunteer for several weeks and came back with shocking stories of the brutality he witnessed. In one incident, Dr. Sidhwa himself narrowly escaped death when Israel bombed the hospital he was volunteering at, killing his 16-year-old patient, Ibrahim.
Any activity that terrorizes innocent human beings through fear, control and violence should be rightfully condemned. The colonization and dehumanization of Palestinians has been going on for decades. Palestinians are being denied respect and dignity and are being treated as far less than human.
While Jewish organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow and Peace Now support Palestine and its people, and advocate for stopping the othering and dehumanization of Palestinians, it is beyond comprehension that a horrific chapter of history is repeating itself.
What happened to the “Never Again” movement? At the very least, the preservation of Holocaust records allows the world to remember and learn from those atrocities. Yet the stories of tens (or maybe hundreds) of thousands of men, women, and children who were killed over two years of genocide in Gaza remain largely hidden, closed off to the world. Foreign journalists are blocked from entering Gaza, while local reporters are deliberately targeted and killed for trying to show the world the plight of their people. Tools such as discrimination, forced starvation, fear and intimidation, bombing civilian infrastructure, strict control over movements, and many more were deployed, eerily similar to the control tactics that were exercised during the Holocaust. Where is the historical learning, the humanity, and the resolve to respect fellow human beings? For two years the world begged for an end to this madness, to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and to stop the killings and forced starvation of Palestinians. In July, a few staff members at OBI authored and shared a letter of support for Palestinian people highlighting the starvation in Gaza, garnering almost 2,000 signatures. The ceasefire agreement, signed by Hamas and Israel, on Oct 8, has ended most of the bombings in Gaza, allowed for some aid to finally reenter the besieged territory, and led to an exchange of captives which saw the release of the remaining Israelis held by Hamas and about 2,000 Palestinians held by Israel. This is a welcome move and a step in the right direction, but the situation in Gaza remains deeply troubling. Since this so-called ceasefire went into effect, Israel has continued to routinely bomb Gaza, killing more than 240 Palestinians, while it is also still blocking most aid trucks from entering. When are we finally going to put an end to this madness?
Journal entries by the victims of the Holocaust as displayed in the museum. (Click to expand images).
In a different part of the world, a psychological war is being staged against minorities. In the last more than a decade, there has been a slow but steady movement to disparage and dehumanize Muslims in India (ranked #132 as a low inclusive country in 2025). The process of othering being waged in India against Muslims and other minorities is a bit more subtle but equally damaging to the fabric of the society. After India’s partition in 1947, some Muslim families decided to move to or stay in the newly created conservative Muslim nation Pakistan, while some Muslims decided to move to or stay in secular India. The section of the society that at the time wanted the country to become a Hindu state are exercising their political power now to discriminate against religious minorities in order to establish Hindu supremacy. Turn on any TV channel, and the vitriol of right-wing conspiracy theorists targeting Muslims, their culture, and their very existence are on full display.
While any terrorist activity – even if it is blatantly orchestrated by fringe Hindu fanatics posing as Muslims – is attributed to Muslims, any act of violence by right-wing Hindu fundamentalists towards Muslims is ignored, justified or even rewarded. When prominent politicians use their bully pulpit to disparage, and even incite violence against Muslims, it is clear that the social fabric is being torn bit by bit. When people protest, its basis rooted in progressive and egalitarian mindset, they are labeled as the one supporting terrorists.
It hurts deeply to witness how friends and family, highly educated or less educated, urban or rural, any gender, kids and grownups alike, are being fed misinformation and disinformation day in and day out through traditional media, social media, WhatsApp messages and regular conversations. Anything is fair game for the majority, dehumanizing the current Muslim population and degrading historical figures, digging up mosques to claim those are built by grazing temples despite the Places of Worship Act of 1991, and asking people to go to Pakistan if they stand up for these communities. Even using government machinery to justify usurping or dismantling properties of people suspected of being or supporting Muslims without due process, justifying physical violence or organizing riots in Muslim-majority areas, and the list goes on. On the other hand, India cherishes and celebrates prominent Muslim figures who are proud citizens of India and have brought repute – Maulana Azad (freedom fighter and first Minister of Education of Independent India), A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (ex-President of India), Amjad Ali Khan (Sarod maestro), Syed Kirmani (ex-cricketer), Mohd. Rafi (Late singer), Mohd. Iqbal (Wrote the national anthem), A.R. Rahman (celebrated music composer), Ustad Bismillah Khan (“Shehnai” maestro), and the list goes on. A YouTube video (in Hindi) interestingly narrates the story of a non-identifiable generic Hindu who is scared of Muslims but adores the list of Muslim folks mentioned above.
How does one reconcile these famous figures who happened to be proud Indians with the current Muslim population which is being labeled "anti-national?" Why does the majority have the right to question their loyalty or patriotism towards the country they call home? Isn’t it cowardice that we have to put someone down to show our superiority? Isn’t your worth displayed through your values of treating other human beings with respect and dignity?
Graffiti on the portion of the Berlin wall developed as a living museum
Let us remind ourselves that we are all humans, living on the only livable planet in this endless universe. While we are a tiny spec in the vast universe, we can make a significant difference in humankind, accord respect and dignity to fellow human beings, support humanity, be empathetic to suffering and pain, and celebrate progress, achievements and our sense of global community.
Even the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, guides us towards a collective consciousness, believing that our individual Atman (soul/energy) comes from the bigger source of energy called Brahman. Our bodies, our appearance and our likes/dislikes might vary, but we all derive our energies and consciousness from the same source. Let us create a bigger circle of human concern, a bigger “we,” where we all belong, are valued and have a voice.
The trend towards toxic masculinity, xenophobia, homophobia, gender bias and supremacy in general leads to breaking and creating smaller sets of “we.” Supremacy of any kind is unwelcomed, be it male, Hindu, Christian, Muslim or by any other social, ethnic or religious group. To dismantle supremacy, members of the dominant group need to stand up for members of the non-dominant group. Additionally, we need to uplift stories of othering to feel the pain and suffering of people and communities being othered, to understand the structural nature of discrimination, and to advocate for dignity, respect and equality.
There are many organizations working towards this as I listed in my previous blog. Let us resurrect the “Never Again” sentiment. Let us pledge not to disparage other social groups, but lift up everyone, especially the ones who are vulnerable, less fortunate and voiceless.
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I appreciate Amanat Khullar’s and Marc Abizeid’s review of and edits to this blog post.
